Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system from the Sun and it is the other neighbour to Earth (Venus being the other). It has a radius at its equator of about 2110 miles and is around 141,634,937 miles from the Sun.

Mars' atmosphere is very different to ours, and weighs less than 1 percent of Earth's, as it is made up principally of carbon dioxide with small amounts of other gases, including neon, water, nitrogen, argon and oxygen.

The water on Mars is not very plentiful, but it can still form clouds when it reaches certain heights. Explorations of Mars have also seen evidence of fog, frosts and snow. The snow appears to fall in the polar caps during winter.

Temperatures on Mars are quite a bit colder than here on Earth, with an average ranging from -140C to 20C. It is therefore cooler than Earth, even though the carbon dioxide in its atmosphere creates a greenhouse like effect. This CO2 though is so thin its influence is minimal.

Mars rotates on its axis with a similar tilt to that of Earth (about 25 degrees) and therefore has seasons like we have - summer, winter, spring and autumn. Like our planet, these seasons are opposite depending on whether you are in the north or southern hemispheres. Mars' rotation around the Sun takes about twice as long as ours and therefore the length of a season is about double the length of ours.

The orbit of Mars is a lot more oval than Earth's which means it varies in distance from the Sun, varying from 128 million miles to 154 million miles. This also has an effect on the length of its seasons. At the moment Mars is nearest to the Sun when the southern hemisphere is experiencing summer, which means they are currently shorter but warmer than those which are in the northern hemisphere.

Mars usually appears quite cloudless, however there are occasionally clouds which are made up of ice crystals made up from water, or more usually, carbon dioxide. Large dust storms which can occur on Mars for several months at a time can turn the clouds a yellow or red colour.

Winds on Mars are fairly light (rarely more than 15 miles per hour). However during dust storms or in sudden gusts, they can reach over 300 miles per hour. The lower pressure on Mars though, would mean such strong winds would actually feel lighter over there than on Earth.

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